Most motorists driving petrol or diesel cars believe a switch to electric will not save them money, according to a poll of 12,000 drivers by the AA and an electric car website.
The blame is being pinned on Rachel Reeves who is to levy a per-mile tax on zero-emission vehicles.
The AA said the government had not created the right conditions to persuade motorists to switch to electric despite that being its policy.
Fleet managers who have invested in electric vehicles have accused the government of retrospectively moving the fiscal goalposts.
The survey by electrifying.com, “the EV experts”, with the AA, found that 55 per cent said mileage-based taxation would deter them from going electric.
The poll also found that only 14 per cent of non-EV motorists believed that the overall cost of running an electric car would be cheaper than a petrol or diesel vehicle.
Reeves has said she will introduce a 3p-a-mile excise duty on fully electric cars in two years’ time. It is unclear whether the tax will be levied on data gained from in-car monitoring, which could raise privacy fears, or based on MoT checks, which are made yearly once a car reaches a certain age.
Ginny Buckley, the editor-in-chief of electrifying.com, said the EV excise duty appeared to be poorly thought through. “The results of this survey should be a wake-up call for Whitehall.
“Confusing government decision-making around electric vehicles raises questions rather than building confidence among car buyers.
“You cannot claim to support mass adoption while undermining it with the threat of additional taxation.”
Edmund King, the president of the AA, said: “This survey shows that there is still some way to go to convince most drivers to go electric. Conditions which would help most drivers go electric have not yet been met.
“The early adopters have already made the switch but mainstream motorists need more accurate information to convince them. Drivers still need the right incentives and information to make that leap of faith.”
Toby Poston, the chief executive of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, said: “When more than half of drivers say pay-per-mile charging would deter them from going electric, it is clear this is the wrong tax at the wrong time and a real pause for thought for policymakers.
“Any reform must protect those who have already made the switch in good faith. It should not retrospectively move the goalposts for drivers and businesses who have invested early.
“We need a rethink. The future of road taxation must be fair, workable and supportive of continued electric vehicle adoption.”
The Treasury want a per-mile charge for EVs to make up for lost fuel-duty revenues as more motorists go electric. Fuel duty raises about £24 billion a year. That is 1.9 per cent of all tax receipts and is equivalent to £835 per household and 0.8 per cent of national income.
